New Agreement With Texas Tech Supports Teachers & Nurses

Dallas County Community College District students can transfer to Texas Tech University and either fast-track to a teaching career at Texas Tech or pursue a bachelor's degree in nursing through the university’s El Paso campus, thanks to recent transfer agreements signed by both institutions.

Fast track to teaching careers

DCCCD students who want to pursue a career in teaching now have a pathway to transfer to Texas Tech's TechTeach, a program that puts them on a fast track to earn a bachelor’s degree and a teaching certificate in one calendar year after completing an associate degree. The degree and certification guarantee teaching positions at schools in the Dallas Independent School District.

A transfer agreement signed by the two institutions offers this opportunity: Students who complete a recommended degree plan and earn an Associate of Arts degree in teaching or an Associate of Science degree and who fulfill Tech’s requirements will be admitted to the TechTeach program and earn a bachelor's degree in multidisciplinary studies.

The agreement was signed at DCCCD in July by Dr. Justin Lonon, DCCCD’s executive vice chancellor, and Dr. Scott Ridley, dean of the College of Education at Texas Tech.

The TechTeach program allows students to earn a bachelor's degree and the teacher certification in one year through a combination of online classes and intensive clinical experience. In this program, students are placed as teachers at DISD schools, and their work is monitored by mentors and coordinators.

“The TechTeach program offers an excellent opportunity for our students to take a fast track to teaching and bring more teachers into Dallas classrooms,” said Lonon. “Transfer agreements like TechTeach and our general transfer renewal with Texas Tech enable our students to attend a university, build a career and teach to help young students grow.”

“Texas Tech University strongly values its programming partnership with DCCCD, and the data tell us that we are jointly producing excellent new teachers for the communities and children that need them the most," Ridley stated.

DCCCD students will be guaranteed admission to the program if they complete an A.A.T. or A.S. degree; have a cumulative grade point average of 2.75; earn a “C” or better in all courses; and achieve minimum scores on one of the following exams:

SAT: 500 or better in both verbal and math portions and a total score of 1070

ACT: 19 or better in both English and Math portions and a total score of 23

The TechTeach program offers four educational certificates, including:

EC-6th Grade Generalist Certificate;

Bilingual Certificate;

English as a Second Language (ESL) Certification (EC-6); and

Special Education Certification (EC-12)

General DCCD/Texas Tech transfer agreement renewed

During the ceremony, DCCCD and Texas Tech also renewed a general articulation agreement that enables students to transfer from the district's seven colleges to Texas Tech. DCCCD students who follow the recommended program of study – the common core and transfer curriculum – and who meet all other admissions requirements and deadlines pertaining to application for admission, orientation and registration, and payment of tuition and fees will be eligible for admission to Texas Tech.

The renewal was signed by Lonon and Dr. Patrick Hughes, Tech’s associate vice provost for undergraduate education.

Under the general transfer renewal, DCCCD students who have earned 12 to 22 credit hours and who have a GPA of 2.5, and students who have 24 or more credit hours and a minimum GPA of 2.25, will be guaranteed admission at Texas Tech. In addition, students who complete common core requirements or who earn an associate degree will be accepted automatically.

Texas Tech also will accept credits from online, dual credit and early college high school courses; only courses with a grade of “C” or better will be eligible for transfer.

Brookhaven College nursing students can earn degree from Texas Tech - El Paso

Under another partnership, Brookhaven College nursing students will be able to earn a bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech El Paso’s Gayle Greve Hunt School of Nursing through a dual enrollment program between the two schools. Brookhaven students will be able to complete their four-year degrees without leaving the Dallas area by participating in their clinical rotations at local hospitals and by taking online classes at GGHSON.

The new partnership will help alleviate the national shortage of nurses because many hospitals now require nurses to have bachelor’s degrees.

Almost 28,000 nurses already work in Dallas County, but at least 4,000 more are needed immediately, according to recent figures from Economic Modeling Specialists International.

For more information about the new partnership between Brookhaven’s nursing program and dual enrollment with Texas Tech's nursing program, please contact Mark Meyer, DCCCD’s dean of nursing, at
mameyer@dcccd.edu or call 972-860-4546.